The best in NH running, 2013

Get ready to spring! The Millennium Mile is always a great way to start the new year off with a fast run.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -

Hello runners, thanks for checking out my 4th annual "Best In NH Running" from the year gone by. Keep in mind these are my personal opinions from the races I was at. I ran 30 races this year, with 21 of them in New Hampshire.

Photos: Best in New Hampshire running, 2013

Photos: Best in New Hampshire running, 2013

The annual Boston Prep Road Race in Derry ... 16 tough, hilly miles to get runners ready for the Spring marathon season.

Abbey D'Agostino ... the Dartmouth great became the first Ivy League runner to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship

Halfway to Saint Pady's Day race in Manchester with Dave Brown.

Leprechaun Leap in Nashua with Shawn Micklovich.

Get ready to spring! The Millennium Mile is always a great way to start the new year off with a fast run.

The Wolf Hollow Half Marathon, with Jim Lord.

The Cigna-Elliot Corporate 5K. It surpassed its own record as NH's largest race, and 12 members of the Staton extended family were there to run and cheer.

BEST RACE: Cigna-Elliot Corporate 5k. They set the NH record for largest race (timed finishers) with 5,475. They broke their own record from 1998 by 10 runners. For me, it was extra special because 12 of my family members were there to run and cheer (see above photo).

TOUGHEST RACE: Boston Prep. Cold January weather, and 16 long, hilly miles. Really long and really hilly. But if you have run Half marathons, this is the next step for you. Good luck! I am signed up again for 2014. Runner-up: Auburn 10 miler (I wasn’t at the Mount Washington road race!).

BEST RACE SHIRT: Concord Ten Miler. They were the runner-up last year, and elevated their game by going to red shirts with a silver logo, really sharp. One of my best running moments of the year was when a runner passed me on a hill (not the passing part) and said it was his first race in over a decade, and he was running because he heard the shirt was nice. Runner-up, Redhook 5K (also a red shirt).

MOST INTIMIDATING: The Hollis Fast 5K. This was a Grand Prix event this year, so it brought outstanding runners from all over New England to this Thursday night race. There were long-legged, zero body fat types all over town, warming up before the race. They looked fast, and they were! This is becoming a big-time race that maintains its small-town feel. I had to track down the organizers at Martha’s Exchange later that night to find out who the winners were!

BEST PRIZE: The Millennium Winter 5k in Bedford gave out new skis to the winners. So cool!

HOTTEST RACE: The Rye Duathlon. It was brutal! A 5K run, 17-mile bike ride, then another 5K. It had to be 95 degrees out. I want to give this one another try, hopefully in cooler weather.

SO LONG, OLD FRIEND: So sorry to see the Black Fly Triathlon discontinued this year. It's so much fun to race around the mountains at Waterville Valley.

BEST RELAY: Manchester Marathon. It is really cool to navigate around the Queen City with 3 of your running buddies, completing the 26.2 miles as a team.

BIGGEST DAY: Turkey Day. Well over 20,000 people ran about 17 races in NH on Thanksgiving morning. Well done Granite Staters!

RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Dartmouth great Abbey D’Agostino. She followed a spectacular outdoor season by winning the NCAA Cross Country Championship (the first Ivy league runner to win the title). She just missed making the USA Olympic team two summers ago (less then one second in the 1500 Meters) so expect to hear from her for a long time to come. Runner-up: Manchester’s Larisa Dannis, who won multiple 50 and 100 mile endurance races all over the country. Good luck to Larisa as she competes in the USA Ultra Trail Running Championships in January, and look for her in the next Olympic Marathon trials (in her first-ever marathon, Dannis won the Hyannis Marathon in February).

GOOD ONE IN MASS: The Plymouth (Mass) Light Up The Night 5k. The race starts (more or less) when the big Christmas tree in the center of town lights up. Headlamps are required, which makes for quite a sight running past Plymouth Rock. It is a great way to catch the holiday spirit.

BEST OUT OF STATE RACE: On the morning before the Red Sox played Game 4 at the Cardinals, I ran in the St. Louis Rock N Roll Half, and that is my new PR. Great race by the Arch, and the Sox won that night!

WISH I COULD RUN IT: Reach The Beach Relay, which is a September relay race from Cannon Mountain to Hampton Beach. It starts on a Friday, and we are busy with Friday Night HS Football here at work. I’m getting tired of watching my friends do it and not being there. Maybe someday! Runner-up: NH Half Marathon in Bristol. Maybe this year!

NH runners, Happy New Year to you! Please share some of your 2013 running superlatives with all of us!

Thanks, Jamie

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